NATURAL DISASTERS
Earthquake, tornado, and fire drills will be conducted on a regular basis at Emge. Students and teachers
will treat drills as though they were an actual emergency, understanding that drills represent
procedures that could mean life or death. The following instructions will help ensure the safety of
everyone in the building in the event of an actual emergency.

EARTHQUAKE PROCEDURES
Earthquake drills will be announced by intercom. (The real thing would be announced by much shaking
and things falling.) The following procedures should be followed:
1) Immediately, students should sit underneath their desk so as to utilize it as a barrier to falling
debris.
2) When the intercom announces that the drill is complete, students should return to their seat and
instruction.
3) If a real earthquake should occur, teachers should survey their room for children in need of
medical attention. If there are some, the red emergency card should be placed by the classroom
door.
4) Debris and obstructions may make leaving the building difficult. Seek the shortest and safest
route OUT of the building and get students out as soon as possible.
5) One teacher from each grade level should remain inside if there are one or more students
injured. Their purpose is to give comfort and aid as is possible.
*Click here to read more about Earthquake Safety for Missouri schools

TORNADO DRILL PROCEDURES
● When the tornado sirens are going off, students and staff go to designated location (whether or
not an announcement is made).
● Students should face an interior wall, with knees and elbows on the ground, and hands over the
back of their head. Students should not be talking.
● Fire doors should be closed
● Close windows and doors
● During a ‘real’ tornado warning, all classroom teachers should go to their students’ location (if
they are at P.E./Music/Art/Library)
● Classroom teachers should have an “emergency” box of books, etc… that they can quickly access
to keep students attentive
● Students will not be dismissed from school while the area is under a tornado warning. If it is the
end of the school day, students will be held at school and buses will not be allowed to transport
students until the tornado warning has been lifted. If parents arrive at school during a warning,
they will be asked to wait with us.
● Parents will be notified via the automatic notification system of any changes in transportation, as
well as school delays, associated with shelter-in-place during a tornado warning.

FIRE DRILL PROCEDURES
​SIGNAL​: Fire Alarm
PROCEDURES​:
1. Close all doors and windows.
2. Teachers take emergency folder for attendance purposes and the emergency backpack.
3. All occupants leave the building in single file, quiet lines.
4. Remain as a classroom group outdoors.
5. Students in special classes should evacuate with their specialty teachers and these teachers
will communicate which students they have to the principal. Send a runner to the principal,
counselor, or secretary indicating that all students are present or that a specific student(s)
is/are missing.
6. The principals will communicate with each other to determine where each student is.
7. Once everyone is accounted for, the principal will indicate that it is safe to re-enter the
building.
* Building evacuation maps and emergency procedures are located near the door of each
classroom.